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Divorce procedure and administrative costs

31-12-17, 06:17

My wife and I have separated over a year ago. I currently reside out of Indonesia, and she is in Palangka Raya.

We both want to divorce and agree regarding child custody (basically, I am the only one that actually wants to take care of the child, and have been doing so over the past year).
Since she left, my wife keeps telling me that she will start the proceedings 'next week', but keeps quoting ever increasing administrative fees needed to start a divorce. Apparently, administrative costs are now Rp. 20 juta to start with. I am a bit skeptical regarding this.

The location is Palangka Raya. We were married in a Catholic church as well as in the civil court.

1) My question is, what is the actual procedure and what are the costs involved?
2) I might go to Palangka Raya, hire a lawyer and give him/her rights to represent me, what would that procedure look like?
3) If both sides were to agree on the divorce and the terms of divorce, how long should the proceedings take?

1) My question is, what is the actual procedure ... ?
2) I might go to Palangka Raya, hire a lawyer and give him/her rights to represent me, ... ?
3) If both sides were to agree on the divorce and the terms of divorce, how long should the proceedings take?

(a) If one don't hire a lawyer or an agent , the official cost is probably less than Rp500'000 (I divorced , but at KUA , we did by ourselves , it was very cheap (already forgot , but around Rp300'000) .

1) We did in a different Court (for Muslims) , but I guess it is a similar procedure in the other Court . My ex-wife & her father went to the Court and filed for the divorce (have to state the reason for the divorce , see the official reasons in the link below) . After some days I received a letter from the Court calling me to be there at a certain date . Waited there some 2 hours (you get a line number when you arrive there) . My ex-wife and I were questioned by 3 judges and at the end they asked me if I agreed with the divorce . If I did agree , I guess it would have finished there .

2) As you two did agree , but you don't want to be present there , I guess it would be better/cheaper to give a Surat Kuasa to somebody you trust .

3) I guess around one month , depending on the schedule of the judges .

Comment

1) I've got divorced in 2013 in Bogor, as Christian, my divorce was done in Pengadilan sometihing... I forgot. I registered it myself and it cost about 800.000 something. Less than 2 weeks after I registered it, I received a letter from the court to be there at a certain date (same as Marcus)

2. I dont know if one of you were abroad, but my ex wife had never appeared. She was given 3 chances to be at the court, but she never did, so the trial went on without her. She had a friend at the court, so I guessed she told her everything.
The judges asked for a witness, which I didnt have. I forgot how long it took, maybe 2 or 3 months. After the judge gave their decision, you could collect your divorce paper at the local registration office, by giving them the decree from the judge. Divorce paper was done a week after that, more or less. Being a foreigner and dont speak Indonesian, you must have a translator with you. No need a sworn translator.

3. The judge will one decide for the divorce, anything else must be decided between you two or file in another case. Just like Marcus said, the length of time, depending on the judges' schedule.

Comment

The latest development is that the (ex-to-be) wife has agreed to start the proceedings at the Civil Court (Pengadilan Negeri Sipil). Should I hire a lawyer to represent me and present him with all the evidence or is it enough to show up and say I agree to the divorce?

According to caffeine's reply this is only a matter of getting a divorce paper. This means that there will be no legal discussion of financial arrangements and child custody at this time?

The reason I ask is because I would like to spare the in-laws from public embarrassment by going public with too many pieces of evidence if it is not required to do so at this time.

Regarding child custody arrangements, provided they are mutually agreed, can I draft legal documents at the same time divorce proceedings are in process, or is it required to have the divorce papers settled first?

Best,

Niko Z.

Take my advice, I don't need it.

Comment

Without a lawyer, you MUST present in every trial. For the first trial (called mediation, if I am not mistaken), both of you must be present. If one of you didnt appear, the trial would be postponed for 3 times, like I said in my previous post. After that, the trial can continue.

And after that, you (or your repesentative) must attend each trial. If not, it will be postponed for a week or so, which is wasting time.

I presented neither witness nor "evidence" for the trial. I told the judges the arguments happened only between the two of us and no one knew. I honestly dont know whether it is enough to just show up and say you agree to the divorce. I did that and they still asked for witnesses and evidence, eventhough I had told them, I didnt have any since the beginning.
I attended each trial to make sure everything went as quickly as possible.

if you could settle financial or child custody outside court, then I suggest you do it yourself. If not, then a lawyer will be needed (it will cost starting from 15 mills, again, if I am not mistaken). You can draft a legal document at the same time, you dont need to wait.

Anything settled outside court will be attached at the divorce decree.

Comment

yes, it is possible for you to do it all without a lawyer, and it is also possible for your wife not to be present. But, the judge will give your wife two more 'chances' to appear before the trial can continue with only you at the room.